


The Prince's "Delivery Boy"

by allyouneedissleep



Series: Winterhawk Bingo [4]
Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Modern Royalty, Royalty, Spy Clint Barton, Weddings, prince bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28111818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allyouneedissleep/pseuds/allyouneedissleep
Summary: He wouldn’t have any issues at all with the secrecy rules stating that only people in confirmed legal marriages could tell their significant other about their job if he was planning to marry anyone except the Prince who was first in line to take over as King of Brooklyn after his marriage went through. Clint was about to effectively becomeQueenof Brooklyn and he couldn’t even tell his fiance what he did for a living. As far as Bucky knew, he was a delivery boy.A DELIVERY BOY.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Series: Winterhawk Bingo [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891426
Comments: 12
Kudos: 62
Collections: Winterhawk Bingo Round Two, Winterhawk Wonderland - 2020 edition!





	The Prince's "Delivery Boy"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [endof_theline](https://archiveofourown.org/users/endof_theline/gifts).



> This gift is for endof_theline who asked for Royal AU in the 2020 Winterhawk Wonderland Gift Exchange. 
> 
> This is very much a Modern Royalty Fic, of which Bucky is the Prince of a made up country called Brooklyn. It was definitely a challenge for me to take on as I've never written anything like this before and I really hope you like it. I tried really hard to make sure there wasn't angst as it was specifically asked to be left out. So although there is conflict and confusion, there is limited amounts of angst. 
> 
> I had two betas who wished to not be named, and I truly appreciate their help in cleaning this up. 
> 
> Also for Winterhawk Bingo this goes towards my Free Space.

**_Clint_ **

Despite the fact that Clint’s intended was a fucking _Prince_ , he wasn’t allowed to inform him that he was an Undercover Agent, because apparently they only let you tell that secret if you were legally _married_. 

A bunch of bullshit if you asked him, but, well, no one did. 

Clint understood that they had protocols for a reason, and logically he knew that it wouldn’t be the smartest idea to just let anyone you were dating into the _know_ , but that didn’t mean it didn’t suck regardless. 

So, yes, Clint was an Undercover Agent operating for SHIELD with his homebase currently in the Land of Brooklyn. And he was a damn good agent too. If it wasn’t for his best friend Natasha, he would say he was probably the best, but there was just no way he was better than her. That girl got _results_. 

He wouldn’t have any issues at all with the secrecy rules stating that only people in confirmed legal marriages could tell their significant other about their job if he was planning to marry anyone except the Prince who was first in line to take over as King of Brooklyn after his marriage went through. Clint was about to effectively become _Queen_ of Brooklyn and he couldn’t even tell his fiance what he did for a living. As far as Bucky knew, he was a delivery boy. 

A DELIVERY BOY. 

Seriously, how on Earth he believed that one, Clint would never understand. Clint left his apartment at all hours of the day, and sometimes he was gone for days, if not weeks, at a time. He regularly carried some form of weapon on him, if not his bow, arrows, and quiver. He was especially good at keeping secrets, finding stuff out, and navigating conversations in languages he should definitely not know. How Bucky still believed he was a delivery boy was beyond him. But then again, people will believe what they want to.

It grated on his nerves everyday that he was unable to just tell Bucky everything; he couldn’t share where he was going, or why he was so exhausted after a difficult mission. It was cutting him up inside to have to hide this from him, and he worried that their relationship was suffering because of it. 

Regardless of why SHIELD required secrecy or whatever, Clint got that part, he knew that at the end of the day this was going to put in a wedge in his relationship. Married or not, Bucky was not going to like having secrets of this magnitude kept from him. After all, as the Prince it wasn’t often that he was left out of anything, or that he wasn’t given information he wanted as soon as possible. Unfortunately for him, SHIELD was thorough and if Clint wanted Bucky to believe he was a delivery boy, well, they were going to back it up so that any search Bucky’s staff did on Clint reflected that.

He wanted Bucky to figure out that he was a Secret Agent _so bad_ , but he just didn’t know what he could do to lead him to it with SHIELD continuously covering their tracks. 

Clint only hoped that when everything came to light, which he was one hundred percent sure that it would, that it would happen on his terms. That Clint could sit Bucky down in their suites in the castle, have a nice spread of food and beverages sat out to snack on, and explain to him why he wasn’t allowed to divulge his real career sooner. If everything went to plan, hopefully he would forgive him after a few days of not speaking and they would have some spectacular makeup sex to make up for it. 

It was a long shot for sure, but one could hope. 

\--

On the bright side Clint knew that something was gonna go wrong, so at least he didn’t have his sights set too high on everything working out the way he’d planned.

On the down side Clint knew that something was gonna go wrong, and it did.

\--

**_Bucky_ **

His wedding day.

Something he had been dreaming of since he was little. 

His mother, the beloved Queen Winnie, gave birth to two children: Prince James Buchanan Barnes, Bucky as he prefers to go by, and his younger sister Rebecca Barnes, who was lucky enough to not have been given a middle name. When Bucky was only six years old, his father fell in battle. His mother went on to lead the kingdom single handedly until Bucky was married, and old enough to rule on his own. 

The sudden busyness his mother took on after her husband’s death meant that Bucky and Becca were suddenly put through all of their lessons together, rather than separating them based on gender specific classes. For example, Becca was to learn how to fight and Bucky was to learn how to decorate for the various holidays. 

It was apparently unheard of for both princes and princesses to learn together, but they never knew any different so they thought it was normal. Therefore, Bucky learned far more about weddings than his normal lessons would have granted, and from then on he couldn’t wait for his own. 

He started planning his wedding in secret. At first, his spouse had a blank face and body, but as he got older, he started to picture features that were typical on a man’s body: broad shoulders, narrow waist, tall, and short cropped hair. 

Bucky was eight when he found out he was gay, and would not be producing heirs for the kingdom without a surrogacy option. 

But his wedding, that was something he would never let anything ruin. He would be married to the man of his dreams, the future Duke of Brooklyn, and they would have a beautiful ceremony that would be televised for everyone to see. No one would be able to deny that they were perfect together. The beloved Prince and his husband. 

No, he wasn’t nervous. He was anxious for the day to begin and for everything to get a move on. But he couldn’t wait to stand at the altar in his dress blues and wait for Clint to walk down to meet him. 

Everything would be perfect. It was only a matter of time. 

\--

Standing at the altar was definitely different than he had imagined it would be. Mostly it was just hotter than he expected. He didn’t realize that, to televise the whole event, they needed to add so many reflective lights, and they burned _hot_. Bucky stood patiently, and struggled not to wipe the sweat he could feel gathering on his brow. 

It felt like no time passed before Clint was striding beautifully towards him, down the long aisleway of the church. He was truly breathtaking. Bucky couldn’t wait to call this man his husband. 

As soon as he could, Bucky reached a hand towards him to help him step up onto the little platform where the priest and Bucky were standing. He tightened his grip, and refused to look away from Clint’s eyes, the prettiest blue he’d ever seen. 

Time seemed to simultaneously speed up and slow down. The priest droned on and on. He could have said anything he wanted right then and Bucky wouldn’t have heard a single word. Usually, his situational awareness was better than this, but he always allowed himself to really _let go_ when Clint was around; he could just be Bucky and not Prince James. It was refreshing. 

It was also extremely dangerous. 

Bucky didn’t even notice anything was amiss until Clint was shoving Bucky to the ground. Then Clint reached behind his back into his waistband and pulled out a gun to shoot at someone up in the balcony. Before he passed out, all he could think was how he didn’t even know Clint knew how to shoot beyond his mandatory lessons, let alone well enough to bring a gun to his wedding day. 

\--

When Bucky finally woke up, he was in his private quarters at the backup safe house Clint and him were to use after the wedding, if there was too much paparazzi on the way to the first one. It wasn’t ideal to be here, but it wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. As long as he had his husband by his side (and how amazing was that? Bucky was married!), then everything would be okay.

Unfortunately, when he walked downstairs, Clint was nowhere to be found. Instead, there on the couch, sat Clint’s best friend Natalia, perched as if nothing was wrong. 

“Where is he? Is he okay? Where’s my husband?”

Nat coughed, “Fiance.”

Bucky shook his head back and forth. “What? No, we totally got married.”

She tilted her head. “Do you not remember what happened? You never actually got to the ‘I do’s’.”

“No,” he trailed off, falling heavily into the chair that was adjacent to the couch, “that can’t be.”

“The sniper tried to take you out before you even got to the vows. Fortunately, Clint noticed and shot him before anything bad could happen to you.”

“So where is he? Is he okay? Why did he even have a gun?” Bucky rubbed his forehead; he could feel a headache coming on. 

He received a shrug in response before Nat got up from the couch, patted the back of it twice, and headed towards the door.

“Wait,” Bucky called after her. “You didn’t really give me any information.”

She shrugged again. “You didn’t get married, so there isn’t much I’m allowed to say.”

Above all, no matter what happened, he just hoped Clint was okay. At the end of the day, he still just wanted to marry the man of his dreams. Even if there were things about him he didn’t really understand, he still loved him.

\--

There was something that kept bothering Bucky about the entire situation. Something just wasn’t adding up to him and it was driving him crazy. 

Where was Clint exactly? Why couldn’t Nat tell him where Clint was? Speaking of Nat, why did she introduce herself as Natalia if Clint insisted on calling her Natasha? Why could Clint shoot a gun that good? Why did he have one at their _wedding_?

And most importantly, was Clint even a delivery boy?

This whole thing smelled fishy, and Bucky was absolutely going to get to the bottom of it. Or rather, he was going to call his mom and see what she could tell him. 

\--

So apparently, Clint worked for some government agency run by someone named Nick Fury, that was largely kept secret and she wasn’t even sure what he did for a living since they were all trained the same. All Bucky knew was that his fiance was some badass guy who knew how to shoot a gun flawlessly, and look damn good while doing it.

\--

_**Clint** _

_~~ Two Years Ago ~~_

The thing no one ever tells you about being an undercover agent is just how _boring_ it all is. There’s a lot of hurry up and wait and it gets tedious after a while. Maybe it’s just that Clint was born and raised in the mid country, the essential no-mans-land of Brooklyn, but he likes to take things slow. He wants leisure and relaxation, not rushing around just to be stuck in one place for the next three hours. 

The thing no one ever told Clint, or rather Clint never knew about himself, was just how awkward he would feel when he was undercover. Some people thought it made him a terrible agent, because he just had this inability to always seem cool, calm, and collected. But surprisingly, more often than not, it actually caused him to fly under the radar, because whoever thought the awkward guy fiddling with his empty glass by the buffet table would be an elite level spy and assassin?

It was one of many boring, tedious, undercover surveillance missions when he ran into Bucky. He didn’t know at the time that he had been talking to a prince, although he should have clued into that considering he was at a ball that the queen was hosting. No one ever said he was the smartest agent, so he figured he could be excused. 

Clint’s job had been to keep an eye on Lord Alexander Pierce of the neighboring region. It was suspected that he was up to no good and they decided that keeping him within their sights on every possible occasion would be for the best. 

The problem with having a surveillance mission at a friggin ball was that he was expected to _blend in_. Sure, he liked dancing as much as the next guy, but he was on mission all by himself and he really didn’t want to accidentally lead some duchess or lady on and then be expected to ask for her hand in marriage or something. 

(Honestly, he had no idea how any of the rich people courting worked and it was the 21st Century so he assumed it was different than old movies made him believe, but, well, he never thought he’d find himself in this situation, so he never bothered to learn.)

So he stood awkwardly by the buffet table and tried to make it look like he wasn’t loitering while also still keeping a visual on Pierce. He wasn’t expecting anyone to try and talk to him, let alone the beauty that was Bucky, so as soon as the guy opened his mouth, he knew he was a goner. 

He probably should have read a magazine or two before going to the ball, but Clint always had liked to wing it. If he had managed to pay attention to the media, he would have known that this Bucky guy was the Crown Prince. Instead, he assumed he was talking to just another guy who didn’t want to be there.

\--

Three months later, over a dozen of dates happened and passed, and he finally connected the dots that he was dating the Crown Prince of his country. By that point he was in way too deep and he knew that this thing between them was only going to end in one of three ways; Bucky broke up with him, Bucky married him, or one of them died. 

He really shouldn’t have been so surprised when Bucky proposed, but he also couldn’t have been happier. 

In the following months to come, he was expected to undergo etiquette training so he could learn all of the duties he was required to fulfill as the spouse of the future king. He was also required to undergo weapons training, which was laughable because he was a far better shot than the guy teaching him, but SHIELD made him promise to keep everything a secret, so, reluctantly, he completed everything expected of him. 

After all, he would do anything for the man he loved.

\--

_~~ Six Months Ago ~~_

It became increasingly difficult to hide everything involving his work history from Bucky. First, Clint was trash at keeping secrets. Second, he didn’t really want to keep anything from him. 

It was especially hard when Bucky kept bragging about his army nickname. He was so proud of being a sergeant in the army, and not only that but that he was Special Forces. Not only was his fiance a badass prince, but no, he had to be the fucking Winter Soldier. 

He’ll never forget the way Bucky told him. “I was like a ghost story; no one knew when I was coming. I just rushed in like winter.” 

Clint barely resisted rolling his eyes. He’d heard of the Winter Soldier and all, but he knew for a fact that he was the better shot. Records don’t lie after all. “That’s great sweetheart, really.”

“Yeah, they call me that because I’m deadly, baby,” and he threw finger guns at Clint. God damn finger guns. 

If he wasn’t so madly in love with the guy, he’d probably question why he was planning on marrying him. And, as they say, love makes you do crazy things. Including attending a fucking garden party as the future spouse of the Crown Prince. 

According to Bucky’s sister Becca, garden parties were one of the better occasions they were expected to represent the royal family at. She said that although they had to make appearances and say hi to all the guests, it was a lot easier to escape unwanted conversations than at the balls that took place inside. 

Clint was grateful for the fresh air, as he felt like he was suffocating in his short sleeve dress shirt and tie. He could charm people; that wasn’t what worried him. No, it was that he had to charm people on behalf of Bucky, and he couldn’t disappoint him. Disappointing Bucky would break him. 

He attempted to make the rounds at Bucky’s side, but by the fifth time he got yelled at for tugging at his collar, Bucky sent him to go play croquet with the children. 

Now children were something he could do. They hadn’t really discussed it much, but Clint was already hoping they would adopt at least three babies. He was excellent at taking in strays, and he knew that children would be no different. Besides, he was a wonderful uncle and he was sure it would translate well to being a father to kids of his own.

In the meantime though, he could help the kids work on their aim and have fun playing such a stiff and boring game. Honestly, who thought they should play croquet anyways? They had long ago seceded from Great Britain. 

\--

The following week, the official pictures of the event were posted. Bucky’s radiant smile at the photos they snapped of Clint with the kids was well worth having to sit through an entire stuffy garden party. He had already thought it, but he knew then and there that he would do absolutely anything for that man.

He was still looking at Bucky fondly when the guy looked up with a worried look on his face. “What?”

“It’s just,” Bucky pushed the laptop away from him. “Are you sure this won’t cause problems with your delivery job? You know you can quit at any time right? I can support us both easily.”

Clint huffed as he set his coffee cup down. “Babe, we’ve talked about this. I _really_ don’t think it will be a problem.”

“You say that now, but what happens when someone recognizes you on your route?”

“I don’t really have a set schedule. Besides it’s not like I have a bicycle or a car or anything, I don’t think it’ll be a problem, really.” Clint was basically spelling it out for him at this point, if Bucky didn’t realize now that he was lying about his job, then he never would.

“If you insist,” he turned back towards the pictures on his laptop.

Clint dragged his hands down his face in frustration. 

He just hoped that when Bucky did find out about his profession that it wouldn’t end in complete and total misery. 

\--

**_Bucky_ **

It took longer than Bucky thought possible to be reunited with Clint again. He still wasn’t allowed to know details, but apparently he was being held for questioning, a mission report, a medical evaluation, and other secret spy stuff. 

He wasn’t thrilled that his wedding was being called a mission; it made him wonder. Was anything the two shared even real? Was everything a lie? 

No. He didn’t think so. You couldn’t fake the passion the two shared or the emotional moments. Besides, their chemistry spoke for itself. 

So, no. There was no way that everything the two shared was a lie. 

Didn’t mean he wasn’t still pissed that whatever agency Clint worked for was calling what was supposed to be a magical day full of married bliss a _mission_. 

What a joke.

Not seeing Clint and not being able to leave the safe house until everything was deemed okay was causing a lot of stress and anxiety in Bucky. He did nothing but pace aimlessly around the place and get himself increasingly worked up. He didn’t think things would be okay again until he saw his love walk through that door. 

\--

After the third day with no news and no updates on where Clint was or even if he would be returning to Bucky’s side, he decided it was time to be proactive. 

He’s not mad that he can’t know what’s going on with Clint. He’s worried and a little upset, but he isn’t mad. 

He’s not mad that Clint protected him and shot someone on their wedding day. He’s thankful and frankly a little turned on, but he isn’t mad. 

He is mad, however, that he still can’t call Clint his husband. That will just _not_ do. 

Bucky is the Crown Prince of Brooklyn. He’s allowed a lot of liberties, but until he is crowned King he can’t just start throwing around demands. He’s limited in what he’s able to do right at this moment, so he’s going to do the only thing that currently matters to him: he’s going to find a way to become legally married to Clint as soon as possible. 

As per the regulations before a wedding ceremony, they already signed a marriage license. Basically, the only thing they needed to still happen was to have an ordained minister make it official. 

Bucky waited for Clint to walk through that door. He planned to give him an ultimatum: either they’re married within 24 hours or he would leave. 

Honestly, he thought, Clint would likely appreciate not having to go through the whole official ceremony a second time anyways. He was nervous enough before the last one and that was before there was an attempt on Bucky’s life. 

They would be married after Clint got some rest and, more importantly, after Bucky had gotten his hands on him. There was no way he would truly be able to settle down his nerves until he could check for himself that his fiance was really okay.

\--

Clint stumbled in the door on the fifth day around three in the morning. Between whatever his agency made him do, the stress of not having seen Bucky or being told if he was okay, and the fact that his wedding was ruined, he definitely looked a little worse for wear. 

According to Bucky, he’d never looked better. Mostly because not only was he _alive_ but he was _there_. 

Bucky wasted no time in rushing from where he was pacing in the hallway between the living room and kitchen to rush towards where Clint was attempting to take off his boots in the hallway. 

He had changed out of his wedding tux and into some sort of uncomfortable looking jumpsuit. It would be both a challenge and a thrill stripping him out of it. 

Bucky instantly wrapped Clint up in his arms, he nearly crushed him to his chest. “I missed you, you bastard.” Clint laughed weakly from where his head was buried against Bucky’s chest. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.”

“Not planning on it, sweetheart.” Clint reluctantly pulled himself from his grip so he could return to taking off his boots. Once the boots were tossed aside next to the door, he grabbed Bucky’s hand and dragged him towards the couch, where he pulled his fiance down on top of him.

Bucky simply snuggled into Clint’s chest,and he mumbled contentedly. He poked his head up after about ten minutes of silence, because he knew if he didn’t say something then that Clint would be asleep and dead to the world before they could talk. “We’re getting married tomorrow whether you like it or not.”

Clint swallowed audibly. “oh?”

“I mean, if-,” Bucky broke off with a sob, “if you don’t want to marry me anymore, then that’s fine.” He went to push himself off of Clint, but Clint grabbed his wrist before he could move more than an inch. 

“I didn’t say that. I want nothing more than to marry you. I just didn’t know if you still wanted to marry _me_.”

Bucky frowned. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re the love of my life.”

Clint couldn’t keep in his grin. “So tomorrow then? How’s that gonna work?”

“I’ve already got an ordained minister on speed dial. Your friend Nat recommended him, a guy named Nick Fury.” Bucky looked at his fiance in concern as he choked on his spit. “Is that not okay?”

“No, that’s fine. It’s just…”

“He’s in charge of your agency,” he nodded. 

“Uh, how did you know that?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “I may not be your husband yet, but I’m still the Crown Prince of Brooklyn. I know some things.”

Clint brushed Bucky’s hair behind his ear. “So tomorrow then. What do I need to wear and when should I be ready and where do I need to go?”

“I have an outfit in the closet. I was thinking three in the afternoon, and the backyard. What do you think?”

“I think it sounds like a dream come true.” He leaned in to kiss Bucky softly.

Bucky beamed. “I knew you’d be happy. I just can’t wait to call you my husband.”

“Me either, babe. So what now?”

“Now,” Bucky stressed the word as he got up from the couch leading Clint towards the stairs, “I’m going to take you upstairs, strip you out of that God awful jumpsuit, and have my wicked way with you.”

“Sounds good.” Clint followed along dutifully, allowing himself to be dragged wherever his fiance wanted him. 

“Wait, you think my mission outfit is a jumpsuit,” Clint tugged on Bucky’s hand, “and God awful?!”

“Babe,” Bucky spoke to him slowly. “We both know you have no fashion sense.”

“Well, not all of us were raised in royal lessons,” he grumbled.

“And I wouldn’t want you any other way.” Bucky leaned in to kiss him before tugging on his hand once more to get him moving towards the bedroom faster. “Now come on, we’re getting married for real tomorrow and I still want to have sex before we knock out for the night.”

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s pick up the speed.” Clint started taking the steps two at a time.

They laughed all the way to the bedroom.

\--

Their second wedding couldn’t have been more ideal.

That was a lie.

Their second wedding could have been absolutely perfect, but that wouldn’t really fit them, so Bucky really wasn’t too bothered.

The morning started beautifully. Bucky woke up with his nose in Clint’s hair, his fiance wrapped up in his arms. The sun was shining into the window, casting a soft glow around their room. He could hear Nat down in the kitchen putting coffee on to brew, and the smell was steadily rising. All in all, he couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Then he walked downstairs. 

Nat looked at him and he could just sense that something was wrong. Obviously, he couldn’t read it on her face, because the woman could teach lessons on how to keep a straight face in any situation. But he just knew. 

\--

“So, Fury can’t make it,” she ripped the bandaid off.

Bucky tried to regulate his breathing. “So does that mean I’m not getting married today?”

“Oh, no, not at all.” She put a hand on his shoulder to keep him steady. “Just that we had to get a replacement.”

“So why,” Bucky hissed out between his teeth, “would you try and give me a heart attack?”

She smirked. “Anyways, Phil Coulson will be marrying you off instead. You’ve met him, I believe. He’s one of Clint’s good friends.”

“Yes,” Bucky nodded, “yes I have. Lovely man. Good. This is good.” He took a seat at the kitchen island. “I can finally get married; it’s okay.”

Clint dragged himself into the kitchen, making a beeline for the coffee pot. After he’d inhaled half of it, he looked up and blinked sleepily. “Everything okay?”  
Bucky’s hand was on his chest while he counted his breaths. “Nothing to worry about. Everything is still going fine.”

\--

At two, they went to get dressed and learn that their outfits were sized wrong. The stylists mixed up their heights, so Bucky’s top matched Clint’s pants and vice versa. 

“Okay.” Bucky’s breathing was ramping up again. “No big deal. We could get married in a burlap sack and I would be fine. Deep breaths.”

Nat saved the day again, when she walked in holding up both of their dress blues. 

“I didn’t know you were in the army?” Bucky whipped his head to Clint.

Clint shrugged. “I didn’t want to tell you that I outrank you.”

“You what?!” Bucky spluttered. 

\--

Twenty minutes before the wedding was to start, and right after both Bucky’s mother and sister had shown up, the heavens decided to announce themselves. The skies opened up and it downpoured one of the nastiest storms of the season. 

There was a greenhouse out back and, apparently, there was a pathway there through the basement. So they decided it would be a nice location to get married in. So everyone walked through the attached tunnel to get there. 

\--

It was not perfect, but it was theirs and at the end of the day they were finally married. That was all they could ever ask for.


End file.
